Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Mark Quinlan. I'm the senior assistant deputy minister for real property services at Public Services and Procurement Canada, and I'm pleased to discuss our limited role in the transaction process for the Canadian consul general's residence in New York City.
In order to comply with the Treasury Board directive on the management of real property, real estate practitioners from custodian departments are required, as part of their due diligence process, to justify the amount paid for acquisitions and disposals in relation to market value.
Specifically, according to the procedures set out in appendix B to the directive, practitioners must obtain at least one appraisal from the chief appraiser of Canada before acquiring or disposing of real property, except: when there will be an open solicitation of offers and the total value of the real property interest is anticipated to be less than $500,000; in this situation, obtain at least one current estimate of the market value.
Amélie Bouchard, who is accompanying me today, is currently serving as the acting chief appraiser of Canada following the retirement of the previous chief appraiser. Ms. Bouchard has been assistant chief appraiser since 2017.
Also accompanying me is Linda Jenkyn, director general of real estate and national capital area investment management.
The role of the chief appraiser of Canada, in any transaction, is limited to providing an independent and impartial appraisal, supported by market evidence, to assist in making informed real estate decisions. As such, the chief appraiser monitors the quality of third party appraisal reports, assuring adherence with standards and best practices.
According to the same Treasury Board directive, they have to segregate transaction and valuation responsibilities related to real property transactions. The separation of valuation and transaction responsibilities means that the individuals or entities that provide an opinion of market value of a property are different from those that handle the sale or purchase of the property. The separation ensures that the valuation is impartial and reliable, while transactions are conducted with dedicated negotiators, thus ensuring integrity and transparency in the transactional process while minimizing the risk of conflict of interest.
For the transaction in question today, for which the value is above the $500,000 threshold, there was a mandatory requirement for Global Affairs Canada to commission an appraisal report from the chief appraiser of Canada via PSPC appraisal and valuation services. PSPC's role in the purchase of the consul general's residence, therefore, was limited to providing appraisal services. PSPC provided these appraisal services through a third party—John C. Monaco of National Valuation Consultants—and was not involved in the cost-benefit discussions regarding the replacement of the previous residence.
The chief appraiser of Canada's role is not to confirm the merit of a transaction, nor is it to reinforce the fact that a custodian department has made a good decision by achieving a given real estate transaction; the role is simply to provide an independent appraisal on the value of a property.
The segregation between the appraisal responsibilities and the transaction responsibilities—which, in this case, rest with Global Affairs Canada—is highly important and allows for an impartial step in the overall transaction process.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.